The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for removing a tubular casing from a food, such as a ham or a sausage, stuffed in the casing. The casing is made of a flexible sheet made from a paper, synthetic resin or the like, and is sealed at an opening portion thereof with a sealing means.
Hams, for example, are one of the foods stuffed into the casings. Generally, small-sized hams are sold with the ham bodies stuffed in casings. While on the other hand, large-sized hams are sold with the ham bodies taken out of the casings, sliced, and airtightly packed in synthetic containers with a predetermined number of slices (usually more than ten slices).
In general, the slicing of the ham body has been already automated by using a slicing machine, but the removal of the casing prior to the slicing has not yet been automated. Accordingly, manual work has been performed hitherto by workers cutting into the casing with a cutter or the like, and then peeling it off from the ham body.
The large-sized hams, which generally have a diameter in the order of 80-130 mm, a length in the order of 600-1800 mm and corresponding weights, are hard to handle so that a large amount of time and labor is needed for the removal of the casing. This factor has been responsible for reducing the production efficiency in a ham factory.